(Quote)Dan-28682 said:
The bigger threat to Catholicism and Christianity is the the widespread teaching of psychology in ou...

(Quote)Dan-28682 said:

The bigger threat to Catholicism and Christianity is the the widespread teaching of psychology in our public schools. The etymology of the word psychology is the greek word "psykhe" which means "breath, spirit, soul" + "logia" which means "study of" so psychology is the study of the spirit or the soul. Sounds a lot like religion does and in fact a good argument can be made that psychology is really a secular religion...a religion that is often at odds with our Christian beliefs on fundamental topics such as the anthropology of man. For reference you could try Paul Vitz's book, "Psychology as Religion". One major difference, however, is that while we are forbidden from teaching our Christian faith in public schools, almost everyone ends up taking psychology classes...in fact they are even taught in high school now. Is it any wonder that we are losing our culture is turning anti-Catholic/Christian?

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Secular humanism is the problem. It is being blasted out to society loud and clear through the media as its loudspeaker. It is frightening in its urgent manipulation of all who have to hear the noise.... and that is what is wrong IMHO. The new atheists are a part of that and they are a part of the problem. I would have to read the book but I think he is limited in his use of the word Psychology.

We do know and I agree that Rogerian and Jungian psychology have both been used to take down the Catholic Church and ruin our faith but that is an entirely different discussion BUT one that stands next to the anti-catholicism discussion ready to be discussed. Both very interesting.... I am tempted to buy his book but maybe see if it is on ebooks... Then I could read it cheaply online if I can stand sitting in this chair.

(Quote)Dan-28682 said:
The bigger threat to Catholicism and Christianity is the the widespread teaching of psychology in ou...

(Quote)Dan-28682 said:

The bigger threat to Catholicism and Christianity is the the widespread teaching of psychology in our public schools. The etymology of the word psychology is the greek word "psykhe" which means "breath, spirit, soul" + "logia" which means "study of" so psychology is the study of the spirit or the soul. Sounds a lot like religion does and in fact a good argument can be made that psychology is really a secular religion...a religion that is often at odds with our Christian beliefs on fundamental topics such as the anthropology of man. For reference you could try Paul Vitz's book, "Psychology as Religion". One major difference, however, is that while we are forbidden from teaching our Christian faith in public schools, almost everyone ends up taking psychology classes...in fact they are even taught in high school now. Is it any wonder that we are losing our culture is turning anti-Catholic/Christian?

--hide--

One more thing, I think that what Paul Vitz may be criticizing is the spirit of the age- The New Age where self fulfillment is the only goal.

My Catholic friend recently met a guy and unfortunately dated him for a while. The guy is into the New Age and he only had interest in self fulfillment. Nothing of Christ semed to mean anything to him because he was only in pursuit of certain things- sex, and any kind of self fulfillment. He ended up telling her "I want to live in sin with you." This was the best he could offer her- NOT marriage, not a commitment. Not a committment to grow in Christ and help each other get to heaven. Naturally this useless "match" was ended.

There is LOTS and lots of opportunity for this type of thing out there. Secularization and sensuality ARE what seemingly DRIVES everything. but I see it as eastern religions and the media religion of hating all things Christian and again The spirit of the age...maybe it is the spirit of the antiChrist.

(Quote)Marian-83994 said:
Last night I attended my Parish Bible study on the book of Acts. I am loving everything I am lear...

(Quote)Marian-83994 said:

Last night I attended my Parish Bible study on the book of Acts. I am loving everything I am learning in the study especially the up close view of St Paul and what he must have been like. Last night we were on Chapter 22 where Paul shares his conversion in Hebrew with the Jews and people present.

Our leader asked us to share oiur conversion stories. One story that was shared was about a woman who got her teaching credential in about 2006 or so and tried working in the public schools and did not like it but then went to a local Christian school where there is a high school included.

One day she was doing study hall and heard the teens stating that Catholics are not Christians. She let it go but later it was coming up again and she confronted the teens gently and said yes we are Christians. The next thing she knew a 16 year old was 12 inches from her face telling her she was going to hell. How the encounter ended was unclear but she stood her ground.Word spread and over night 2/3 of parents had called the school threatening to remove their children because a Catholic was teaching there.This woman agreed to resign, if that was what the board wanted. They passed out a tract that showed some history of a Baptist relationship to Catholics and the lady said she understaood when reading that tract why there was such hatred.

The board and the Principal did decide she had to resign( and not return after Christmas). She did that.

This is illegal in our state but this is what she went through. She told the story with grace and with poise. She stated that she went through a renewed conversion after this had happened.

I found this story to be amazing. Unfortunately, there is a lot of the small mindedness prevalent in this part of California where I now reside. Amazing that they felt they could get her to resign based on this fact and not be sued. and Amazing that they could be so adamant that she could disrupt the environment..

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Too often all of us are receiving information about different faith groups -- even our own. It's something like composing a "Warning' type of email and coming up with an untrue or distorted story to incite us. Those get forwarded, and re-forwarded. The problem is that the original information is wrong, and people just assume it's correct, jump to conclusions and get riled up.

Christians are those who believe in and accept Christ. If Christ established His Church, and it is made up of His followers, it would seem only logical that its members are therefore "Christ-ians". While it might seem to us to be a "Duh" situation, sadly it is too real.

There's so much mis-information out there that it's no wonder we look at each other as if they were weird for believing what we THINK they believe. Little wonder there is so much disunity among Christians. Although much progress has been made with the ecumenical spirit of Pope John Paul II, there is a highly-piled backlog of misinformation to sort through. We can stand our ground, as did the teacher to whom you refer.

It's unfortunate that this "teaching moment" was lost, and that the teacher herself became a victim. Illegal? In a public school, yes, but the courts have largely dismissed cases involving private religious schools versus their employes (and former employes).

Progress has been made to promote the common good through interfaith groups, where doctrinal beliefs aren't the focal point. Rather it's working together as faith groups to accomplish good in this world. Beliefs aren't violated with such participation; all are respected.

It's just sad to see so much understanding, even in this age of enlightment and the internet where correct information IS easily available -- to those who seek the Truth.

At the very least, the school you mentioned should have backed up the teacher for her beliefs. The shocking part is that other students actually believed in the same thing, yet the teacher was persecuted. They all accepted Jesus as their Savior -- a great sharing of common ground. Pushing her out the door wasn't a Christian act, which leads us to wonder who was acting as a true Christian in this instance.

Catholics should not be afraid to clarify their beliefs to others, and are being called to do so during this period of evangelization (The Year of Faith). We don't expect that most people will accept our beliefs, but at least the air can be cleared to reduce the level of misunderstanding and mistrust. In return, we can do the same for others.

Excellent article. I have to admit that sadly in the 80's a local Newmann Center I was aware of in a town I lived in was a place where a few gay priests lived. A housekeeper they had was gay too. No one oepnely discussed it, but I talked to a priest who came to visit and he was gay and he eventually ran off with the housekeeper.

It was a very bad time to find that..

The priest who is standing up for faith and morals is probably a saint. He needs uor prayers and may God bless him for his courage, fortitude and wisdom. He is a rare gem.

(Quote)Marian-83994 said:
One more thing, I think that what Paul Vitz may be criticizing is the spirit of the age- The ...

(Quote)Marian-83994 said:

One more thing, I think that what Paul Vitz may be criticizing is the spirit of the age- The New Age where self fulfillment is the only goal.

My Catholic friend recently met a guy and unfortunately dated him for a while. The guy is into the New Age and he only had interest in self fulfillment. Nothing of Christ semed to mean anything to him because he was only in pursuit of certain things- sex, and any kind of self fulfillment. He ended up telling her "I want to live in sin with you." This was the best he could offer her- NOT marriage, not a commitment. Not a committment to grow in Christ and help each other get to heaven. Naturally this useless "match" was ended.

There is LOTS and lots of opportunity for this type of thing out there. Secularization and sensuality ARE what seemingly DRIVES everything. but I see it as eastern religions and the media religion of hating all things Christian and again The spirit of the age...maybe it is the spirit of the antiChrist.

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The mass media (or, rather, their controllers) are pushing a new religion, complete with infallible dogmas, one of which appears to be that gays are a sacred people. Deny one of these dogmas and you will be punished by the inquisition. "Don't push your religion on me" should be a response to the secularists. The secularists make fun of Christianity for having a few dogmas, but the secularist dogmas are defended far more forcefully than the Christian ones.

(Quote)Marian-83994 said:
Excellent article. I have to admit that sadly in the 80's a local Newmann Center I wa...

(Quote)Marian-83994 said:

Excellent article. I have to admit that sadly in the 80's a local Newmann Center I was aware of in a town I lived in was a place where a few gay priests lived. A housekeeper they had was gay too. No one oepnely discussed it, but I talked to a priest who came to visit and he was gay and he eventually ran off with the housekeeper.

It was a very bad time to find that..

The priest who is standing up for faith and morals is probably a saint. He needs uor prayers and may God bless him for his courage, fortitude and wisdom. He is a rare gem.

--hide--

That situation is very common. Of course, when these people are called out for their behavior, they immediately cry persecution. They love authority and obedience (to them). The whole thing is weird. I know a former priest who called a particular Newman center a "sewer."

(Quote)Sean-851370 said:
(Quote) Marian-83994 said:
One more thing, I think that what Paul Vitz ...

(Quote)Sean-851370 said:

Quote:Marian-83994 said:

One more thing, I think that what Paul Vitz may be criticizing is the spirit of the age- The New Age where self fulfillment is the only goal.

My Catholic friend recently met a guy and unfortunately dated him for a while. The guy is into the New Age and he only had interest in self fulfillment. Nothing of Christ semed to mean anything to him because he was only in pursuit of certain things- sex, and any kind of self fulfillment. He ended up telling her "I want to live in sin with you." This was the best he could offer her- NOT marriage, not a commitment. Not a committment to grow in Christ and help each other get to heaven. Naturally this useless "match" was ended.

There is LOTS and lots of opportunity for this type of thing out there. Secularization and sensuality ARE what seemingly DRIVES everything. but I see it as eastern religions and the media religion of hating all things Christian and again The spirit of the age...maybe it is the spirit of the antiChrist.

The mass media (or, rather, their controllers) are pushing a new religion, complete with infallible dogmas, one of which appears to be that gays are a sacred people. Deny one of these dogmas and you will be punished by the inquisition. "Don't push your religion on me" should be a response to the secularists. The secularists make fun of Christianity for having a few dogmas, but the secularist dogmas are defended far more forcefully than the Christian ones.

The gay marriage movement is being funded by many of the wealthiest people in the US. The Ford and Rockefeller Foundations funded the gay rights movement in the past and probably still do today. The gay rights movement is drenched in money and power. Homosexuality traditionally has been the domain of elites.